General Paper Standards

Standards for Papers

Electronically submitted papers should be in a standard 12-point font (e.g. Times New Roman or Cambria), with 1” x 1.25” margins, and double–spaced. Pages must be numbered and labeled according to MLA conventions. The title of the paper, your name, the date, the course, and the name of your instructor should appear in the upper left hand side of your paper. I will be taking grammar, spelling, and structure into account—good ideas cannot be communicated with poor form. If the grammar or structure in a paper is severely flawed in such a way that your thesis and arguments cannot be conveyed, I reserve the right to fail the paper. I encourage you to visit the Writing Lab in the Main Campus Library for assistance.

Hint: Take your paper to the Writing Lab to be proofread before turning it in for a grade!

Paper Length

Papers and other written assignments of insufficient length will receive a deduction from one letter grade to a grade of F, regardless of the writing quality, to be determined at the discretion of the instructor. Paragraphs that essentially repeat the same information or do not contribute to the thesis or prompt (i.e. that go off on a tangent) will not count toward the required word count and will not be considered part of the paper’s overall word count for grading purposes. So be sure your papers are on topic and of sufficient length. Lastly, while all written assignments have a “minimum word count,” there is never an official “maximum word limit”.

Policy for Grading Disputes

If you have a question regarding a grade, you must meet with me within one week after the work in question is graded. No exceptions will be made to this policy. If an exam or assignment is to be re–scored, the entire exam or project will be graded again. This means that your score may increase or decrease. This second grade, whether higher or lower, will be your permanent grade.

Academic Honor Policy (i.e. Cheating & Plagiarism)

My policy (which is reflective of my department’s policy) is that first offenses will result in a grade of zero for the assignment. Additional violations of the policy will result in the student receiving an F for the course. For additional information on Academic Honesty, see the Academic Honesty Policy document in Canvas.